Captain's blog Feb 2009

Feb started with works related to our commercial certification and then on 1st Feb Boss came for a short visit and he probably would have liked to stay longer but unfortunately the small boat curfew was still valid so there was no landing possibility after dark. Soon enough we got orders to sail for Goa on 3rd Feb.

River Princess wreck at Candolim Beach that has eroded the beach by several meters

Cruise to Grandi Island

Boss gave orders same day early morning that he wants to cruise Grandi Is. Next morning we scrambled up all agents and navy personnel as the area is controlled by navy. Sailing took us only a couple of hours and we anchored at SE tip of Grandi Is.

We were followed by Augustine and his small fleet of jetskis out of Sinquerim and I had to go around all approach channels and pilot stations so I approached the Grandi Is from the NW.

Grandi Island

MCA on ENG1 medicals

Many foreigners who work on yachts always get confused when they are asked about their ENG1 medical cert.

Visit to brewery

We arrived the brewery at noon and was met by the various smells of fermenting grains and hops that is associated with a brewery as we were guided to Govind Tiwari’s office where we were greeted with some lunch and cold fresh glasses of Kingfisher. After a short chat we discovered that the brewery was currently churning out abt 100.000 btls a day in 2 shifts, but if demand would rise the production could be increased too.

Richard in front of the brewery

Spice Garden visit

As we entered the garden on a footpath from the ticket booth we heard group of ladies walking in a circle, clapping their hands while singing local songs and as we passed under the entrance fragrant flowers was thrown on us and everyone got a “lei” around their neck.

Crew and Augustine at reception

Cruise ship soap opera

A few weeks back I was related a true story from a cruise ship of how a personal drama evolved to remarkable proportions, read on.

Cruise ship

Captain's Blog - January 2009

So, the year of 2009 has been ushered in and a month of it has already been used up, whew, time goes by so fast when you grow older. We arrived Mumbai 22nd Dec and started some quick repairs again to get Kalizma spick'n'span for our Boss and guests.

M/y Kalizma alongside Victoria Docks

Letter of protest - waterbarge

Letter of protest from 1872

Trip to Pune

I had been invited to meet my friend Atul Gaikwad that lives close to Mumbai (at least when you look at the map) and this Saturday I decided to go on a short excursion. I bought a "Volvo" class ticket for 250 Rs on Friday.

Fire onboard

Just last saturday, 3rd Jan, I had a fire onboard, it was very small and nobody was hurt, but nevertheless could have caused a total loss in case it would not have been quickly acknowledged by the crew.

The fire started from a light fixture (20cm x 20cm) in the lower crew cabin below water level. The fixture somehow short circuited itself, started smoking and finally ignited the plastic parts in it. In less than a minute the whole cabin was smoke packed and triggered a fire alarm.

Molten plastic

Happy New Year

So it was 31/12, the last day of the year. The day started as any other day here in Mumbai. It is sunny here now in winter time and reasonably cool. Not cold though.

Me & Vivek just after New Year...

Port Blair - The cellular jail

Port Blair was a failed attempt to establish a settlement in 1789 and was largely forgotten until 1858 when a penal colony for convicts was established by the British Indian government.

   

Cellular jail (source: Flickr on Trawell )

Captains blog Dec 2008 voyage Phuket – Mumbai

Again we were packed up and ready to depart for India and on the 2nd Dec 2008 we cast off at highwater in Yacht Haven. We were waved off by Marina Manager Nick and Zara as well as our agent Toby and Nong. There were no weeping maidens with a broken heart though.

Taking a greenie on deck

Captain's blog - visit Galle

We arrived Galle roads at 7am 18th Dec and I contacted the Port control. Port Control instructed us to proceed in and a naval patrol boarded us to do inspection. Once clear the sergeant asked for whisky… oh well. We entered the harbor basin that was boomed off except a 10m gap at the breakwater that was guarded by armed sentries. We moored at the “New pier” (N of Gibbett Island), a decently fendered cargo pier but not really suitable for yachts. Everywhere was a military presence and small guys patrolled around with big assault rifles slung on their shoulders or carried in various fashion. The LTTE threat was taken seriously.

Fishermen outside Galle

Captain's blog - visit Port Blair

Once alongside I met our agent Salim Jadwett and his nephew Ashraf that was the “action man”. Well, we started tackling the publicans and first were the Custom officials, lists were filed and stamped then whisky was given for lubrication of the process. After Customs we had the Immigration, same thing there, after them it was the Coast Guards turn. Once all was clear it was already 2pm. 

Port Officials & me

Tips for yacht visiting Singapore

Here are some services I found good and reliable when I have been visiting Singapore.

Map of Singapore marinas

Port Blair - Market Day

This morning it was time to do some provisioning for the boat and I set out with Richard to the Port Blair Market.

Holy Cow

Port Blair - Bakir Eid holiday

So we arrived Port Blair some time ago. I will tell you all about it soon enough. Anyways, 9th Dec was Bakir Eid muslim holiday and in India it is customary to slaughter a goat and make buryani.

Our agent is Mr. Salim Jadwett from the illustrious Jadwett family and he invited me, Vivek and Saini for dinner, we actually went on 2 buryani meals, 1st lunch and then dinner.

Smiling paan wala

Captain's Blog - Nov end

Well, November brought big changes to our lives again. We had settled in comfortably in Phuket and then we suddenly had a guests arrival looming above our heads on 22nd Nov, which eventually was canceled due to the guests changed plans.

Taj Hotel under attack

Tips for yachts visiting Phuket

Below are contractors and tips I find useful for any yacht visiting Phuket.

Piracy - the scourge of the high seas

There has lately been a lot of coverage about piracy in modern days and I'd like to comment on it. Piracy to most laymen brings in mind Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirate's of the Caribbean movies or to the older generations James Cagney from his famous pirate movies decades ago.

Captain Jack Sparrow

Appendix problems

My Jira has a history of intermittent heartburn and indigestion and last wednesday she started complaining about stomach pain and I thought "Ohhh, here we go again". Jira is particular that she can't drink any stomach tonics nor chew any medicines for stomach, so it's difficult to suggest treatments. It is also not easy to get stomach friendly foods here in Thailand as many dishes are stir fried and has loads of chillies....

At home with all the "get well" flowers

Yacht crews working

Previously I posted a blog about Ships Organisation structure, in this blog I am giving some impressions of how small crews works.

Every crew got a duty

Ship command structure

Ships have a rather militaristic organization structure going in "chain of command" principle, or in other words linear command. On merchant ships and big cruisers this organization is quite rigidly followed due to conservative habits and on the latter due to the size of crews in order to be able to retain control.

Example of organisation flowchart

Loy Krathong festival

On 12th Nov was the full moon of twelfth lunar month and Thailand celebrated Loy Krathong, it is a festival coming from the Hindu “Deepavali” Festival of lights. Thais believe it is the time to apologize to the water deity the past years transgressions in form of any pollution (showering, cooking, toilet use, etc.) as thanks for giving life to crops and orchards.

Candle floats in front of Laguna

Captain's blog Oct - Nov

End of last month and this has gone cooped up in port. The rain season seems to give up late this year as it has been raining cats and dogs every other day it seems. As of writing this the weather is sunny but dark clouds are swirling on the horizon.

Anyways, since our return from Langkawi to Yacht Haven Phuket we started doing some serious maintenance (jobs never cease on a boat) and I hired carpenters, dayworkers and welders for our worklist.

Lunch @ Naiyang beach

Captain's Blog - Langkawi - Singapore - Langkawi - Phuket

As in previous blog it ended when we arrived to the drydock in Langkawi, which lasted 14th Aug to 18th Sept and was a very tiring affair for the whole crew.

Kalizma got a fresh coat of paint on the bottom, new zinc anodes, overhauled overboard valves, some new shell plating, additional echosounder and a muffler on the centre engine. Now when we’re idling one can barely hear the engines any more, I need to look at the rpm meters to verify I have propulsion. It is so silent.

Vivek & Juergen Zimmerer

Singapore Beer Festival

On our last Sunday I went with a colleague Captain out to the Singapore beer festival held at Fort Canning, one of the oldest areas in Singapore. 

Certificates required for working on yachts

When you contemplate working on a yacht or in general get involved in shipping you will hear the word certificate being mentioned in every connection. It is today's money making racket and standardization of shipping that has brought it about. Also manufacturers wants to ensure that the product they are selling is certified to a certain standard. You can't even have a piece of uncertified steel onboard or plywood for that matter, same goes for the crew...

Sample of certficate

Captain's Blog - Langkawi Drydocking

As told before we arrived at the Wavemaster floating pontoon on the 14th Aug for our drydocking. Once alongside our agent, Nick Coombes, set immigration procedures in motion. I met with the yard Operations Manager Barry Eades and later in the afternoon we had an opening meeting for our scope of works which had been tentatively agreed upon in advance. We also meet our Project Manager, Mr. Irwan.

Kalizma on the travelift

Captains blog - voyage Phuket- Ko Rawi - Langkawi

We departed Phuket on 12th of Aug for Langkawi. Weather was again fine, only when we got out of cover Ko Yao Yai did we get swell in from the Indian Ocean. We steamed on for the whole day and anchored for the night S of Ko Rawi (Butang group). Next morning we awoke to marvelous surroundings of high Islands covered in lush green and specked with white sandy beaches.

M/y Kalizma in front of Ko Rawi

Captain's blog - end July 2008

This month Kalizma did not move from her berth, we stayed put for ongoing maintenance works. We have upgraded the deck lighting, installed a diving ladder and UV covers onto the tenderboats. All decks got a fresh coat of varnish as well as rust was chipped off on exposed metal parts and repainted, teak oil was applied to all railings. In the Engine Room various piping works related to the aircon was renewed and modified for the better.

M/y Calisto in Yacht Haven (sistership of Cousteau's Calypso)

Captain's blog - beginning July 2008

The month of June came and went without any particular happenings, routine maintenance was carried out, weekends some of the crew went hashing (running). Hash house harriers are a tradition invented by English expats in Malaysia and has spread all over the world. I also discovered the world small as I met my ex Electrician from Ukraine that worked together with me 5 years ago on another ship.

M/y Kalizma at Ko Phi Phi

Captain's blog - voy Phuket - Langkawi - Phuket

Visa voyage

Departure 29/05/2008 at 0600hrs ship left Yacht Haven Marina in good weather. The sea was calm as can be, only some wind ripples could be seen. Upon leaving the channel and reaching open seas we experienced a gentle swell coming in from the Indian Ocean. However as we progressed on our voyage it became apparent that prevailing wind and current from Malacca Strait were against us. We passed Phi Phi Island on the east about 1000hrs and turned more south for a straight course to Langkawi Island. The wind became somewhat stronger and the swell more pronounced, but still the weather was fine, sunshine at times overcast the next, in the afternoon we even got a few showers. At 1800hrs we were already approaching Langkawi but night was setting and we entered the Kuah channel in darkness, at 2200hrs we dropped anchor in the General purpose anchorage outside the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club.

M/y Kalizma @ RLYC

Silver

05.07.2007 - 31.04.2008

m/y Silver
Chief Officer/ Relief Captain (Running deck dept)

After having been dismissed from Titan due to the sale to new Owner's I was again on the look for new horizons and the Chief stewardess from Titan had a lead from a Swedish Captain in her network and put me in touch with him. After a bit of talking and interviewing I was accepted as Chief officer and soon enough was on my way to Australia.

Silver before launch (courtesy of Boatworld)

Captain's blog - Handover

I arrived in the evening on 31st April by train and minivan from Bangkok to sign on m/y Kalizma, the van left me at the Yacht Haven Marina junction and a final motorbike ride took me to the Marina.

M/y Kalizma in Yacht Haven

What yacht is good for you?

Many times you see or hear of a yacht and you just wish you could work there, but sometimes the picture behind the scenes is not as rosy as it looks like from the outside. The question here is how to sort out on what kind of yacht one is suitable to work on?

Wally yachts

Ring finger incident

Cheers everyone, been away for some time now but I'm back again, not with a vengeance but just back.

As some of you may know I had a boating accident recently involving my right hand and a rescue boat. We were at anchor in Male atoll in Maldives and we were tendering crew to a nearby Island called Bandos (should actually be renamed Bandits as they charged exorbitant prices and silly fees with no benefits).

After operation

Conventions regulating ships

Everyone might have heard of different Conventions and Standards etc. stipulating different rules of how a ship has to be built and managed.

Quit smoking 10yr anniversary

This is my story how I started smoking and quit smoking.

Anatomy of a grounding

Wonder how they managed this...

Near drowning incident

A few weeks ago I went out for my morning walk with my colleague Wendy. She had been hankering for days to walk on the beach and the idea was cool to me too, so we took our rubber dinghy and drove to the closest beach near the shipyard which is Woodman's point.

Monkey Mia

Been awhile since the last time but I've been really busy starting up this yacht I'm working on. Currently we are doing a "shakedown" cruise to find all faulty systems and to see that everything is working properly. 

Monkey Mia bay

Burglary

Damn, last nite we had burglars in the house. One of my flatmates, Wendy, forgot to lock the doors and they had been marching right in the door and took the closest thing available - her laptop. Luckily they did not take the other 3 laptops in the house, her jewellery, portable hard drives, our beers in the fridge...

Cancelled internet bill

Don't drink and drive

Last week and this has not been good for our team here in Australia. Our Captain who was on a wine tasting session with our boss got nipped by the coppers on a DUI (just over the limit) and today our landlord called us that we have exceeded our internet cap by the double and the bill is 4200 ozzie dollars.

A millionaire's dinner

Yesterday our boss came to inspect the ship he is building here in Australia. He had loads a meetings and finally settled down to discuss matters with the Captain.

Outback Wallaby

The weather has been awful for the last week, rain, rain and more rain. Haven't seen raining men but it sure is close. Well, enuff of that stuff. Yesterday we went out cruising east on the intention of seeing wild kangaroos or skippies as they call 'em here down under.

Night out in Freo

Greetings from Australia once more. Have been down under in Oz for a couple weeks now. Last Saturday I volunteered to be the designated driver for my colleagues. Ah, need to back track some more. We live in a 3 bedroom (3-story) house that is near the center of Fremantle.

Fremantle, Australia

Been now almost a week in Oz and seen and experienced a lot.